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Two people died Thursday after being struck by lightning in a park in Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Brendan McGowan and Kaitlyn Rosensteel, both 18 years old, were found dead under a large tree exploded near a lake in Mammoth Park, Mount Pleasant Township, around 4 pm. local time, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner's Office.
Witnesses said they heard a big crack and saw a large flash of light in the area where McGowan and Rosensteel were fishing. According to the coroner's office, the two men sustained injuries that could go as far as lightning and were declared dead on the scene.
The official cause and manner of death will be determined pending autopsies and toxicological results.
WTAE
The two deaths would bring to four the total number of lightning – related deaths since the beginning of the year in the United States. Based on the last ten years, the country has an average of seven lightning deaths in mid-June, according to John Jensenius, a meteorologist with the National Board of Lightning Safety, who retired from the National Meteorological Service earlier this year.
The chances of being struck by lightning during your lifetime are 1 in 13,000, according to the National Laboratory of Severe Storms' major storms of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
According to a 2016 study presented at the International Lightning Detection Conference and the International Lightning Meteorology Conference, nine out of ten people struck in the United States will survive.
However, lightning can cause many long-term health problems, including muscle pain, headaches, cognitive problems and nausea.
ABC News, Will Gretsky and Ben Stein, contributed to this report.
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